Psalmist, I Am

Psalmist, I Am

In reading the book of Psalms one quickly notices the total transparency of the psalmists as they reveal heartfelt emotions.  As guided by the Holy Spirit, the psalmists not only relate their feelings, but they also reveal great truths about Father God.

Their paths are not indifferent from our lives today!  Our days are an ever changing array of praise and shouts of joy; anguish and pleas for help; acknowledging the goodness of God or questioning the ways of our foes.

Perhaps we are not capturing our thoughts and feelings in writing like the contributors of Psalms did, nevertheless as sons and daughters of the Most High God, we too are psalmists!

Psalmist, I Am presents emotions and truths found in the Book of Psalms. See how your emotions and thoughts of God, as revealed during your journey, align with those of the writers of Psalms.

All verses are from the New International Version of the Holy Bible.  Psalmist, I Am simply places verses of Psalms having similar themes into a common chapter.  For example, verses containing praise to God can be found in the chapter, “A Psalmist Praises Him.”  Certainly, any one verse could aptly be associated with more than one ‘theme’, or chapter. This presentation cannot deal with those many possibilities. 

Psalmist, I Am will encourage the reader by revealing how much we, today, have in common with the writers of the psalms!

Table of Contents

The God of a Psalmist p10

The Prayer of a Psalmist p69

A Psalmist in Distress p128

A Psalmist Reveals the Blessed p176

A Psalmist Exposes the Wicked p196

A Psalmist, A Follower p232

A Psalmist Reveals God's Promises p277

A Psalmist Praises Him p302

A Psalmist Points to Christ p341

A Psalmist Recounts God's Ways p358

(Journal pages follow each chapter)

 
The God of a Psalmist

John 10:30   I and the Father are one.

Who is he,
this King of glory?
The LORD Almighty—
   he is the King of glory. Ps 24:10

…my help and my deliverer;
you are my God…   
Ps 40:17

You are God my stronghold…
…God, my joy and my delight…   Ps 42:2, 4

…God, my joy and my delight.
…my Savior and my God.    Ps 43:4, 5

A Psalmist in Distress

Hebrews 13:6 So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?p>

 
Out of the depths I cry to you, LORD;
Lord, hear my voice.
Let your ears be attentive
   to my cry for mercy.   
Ps 130:1-2

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
   Why are you so far from saving me,
   so far from my cries of anguish?
My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,
   by night, but I find no rest.
Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;
   you are the one Israel praises.
In you our ancestors put their trust;
   they trusted and you delivered them.
To you they cried out and were saved;
   in you they trusted and were not put to shame.
But I am a worm and not a man,
   scorned by everyone, despised by the people.
All who see me mock me;
   they hurl insults, shaking their heads.
“He trusts in the LORD,” they say,
   “let the LORD rescue him.
Let him deliver him,
   since he delights in him.”
Yet you brought me out of the womb;
   you made me trust in you, even at my mother’s breast. 
Ps 22:1-9

The cords of death entangled me;
   the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me. The cords of the grave coiled around me;
   the snares of death confronted me.
In my distress I called to the LORD;
   I cried to my God for help.
From his temple he heard my voice;
   my cry came before him, into his ears.
The earth trembled and quaked,
   and the foundations of the mountains shook;
   they trembled because he was angry.
Smoke rose from his nostrils;
   consuming fire came from his mouth,
   burning coals blazed out of it.
He parted the heavens and came down;
   dark clouds were under his feet.
He mounted the cherubim and flew;
   he soared on the wings of the wind.
He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him—
   the dark rain clouds of the sky.
Out of the brightness of his presence clouds advanced,
   with hailstones and bolts of lightning.
The LORD thundered from heaven;
   the voice of the Most High resounded.
He shot his arrows and scattered the enemy,
   with great bolts of lightning he routed them.
The valleys of the sea were exposed
   and the foundations of the earth laid bare at your rebuke, LORD,
   at the blast of breath from your nostrils. He reached down from on high and took hold of me;
   he drew me out of deep waters.
He rescued me from my powerful enemy,
   from my foes, who were too strong for me. They confronted me in the day of my disaster,
   but the LORD was my support.
He brought me out into a spacious place;
   he rescued me because he delighted in me.   Ps 18:4-19

A Psalmist, A Follower

Mark 1:17 Come, follow me,” Jesus said ...

I know that you are pleased with me,
   for my enemy does not triumph over me.
Because of my integrity you uphold me
   and set me in your presence forever.    Ps 41:11-12

I do not sit with the deceitful,
   nor do I associate with hypocrites.
I abhor the assembly of evildoers
   and refuse to sit with the wicked.
I wash my hands in innocence,
   and go about your altar, LORD,
proclaiming aloud your praise
   and telling of all your wonderful deeds.   
Ps 26:4-7

But I am like an olive tree
   flourishing in the house of God;
I trust in God’s unfailing love
   for ever and ever.
For what you have done I will always praise you
   in the presence of your faithful people.
And I will hope in your name,
   for your name is good.   Ps 52:8-9

…like a tree planted by streams of water,
   which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither—
   whatever they do prospers.    Ps 1:3
 
Within your temple, O God,
   we meditate on your unfailing love.    Ps 48:9

Interesting how we experience such waves of emotion and thought.  Many Christians, perhaps, feel as if this is not appropriate.  The Psalms show it differently.  The psalmists certainly share many changing emotions in their writings!  Here is a truth about God that is hard to grab hold of… 
He understands!  To experience various waves of emotion is OK!
 Journal your thoughts – be a psalmist! Ray Abner